Inside Your Heaven

Chapter 8: Lose My Mind

A/N: Sorry for the delay... But better late than never right! I hope you enjoy :)

"You put me on a roller coaster, fly me on a plane. You send me to another planet, get inside my brain. I knew right when I met you I would never be the same, but I let you take me over, girl, so I'm the one to blame, oh" ~Brett Eldredge
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"Yes, Gina!" Rick yelled into the phone, "I'm working on it!'

"Your deadline was a week ago, Richard," she scolded. "What's going on with you?"

"Nothing's going on," he lied. "I'm fine."

"Whatever," Gina snapped. "Just get me the chapter by the end of the day."

"The day?!"

"Yes, and I don't want to hear any excuses this time.  You need to finish this book already.  It's been stretched out way too long."

Rick rolled his eyes at his publisher, "I'm aware, thank you. Talk to you later."

He hung up the phone in a hurry and even more annoyed and discouraged as before. Grabbing the laptop, he placed his hands over the keyboard and froze.  How was he suppose to right when all he could think about was how it's been two full days since he's talked to Kate.

Alexis was at a friend's house so that gave him all afternoon to finish his book.  He took a deep breath and looked back at his outline.  All he really needed to do was tie things up, but the real problem was he didn't know how to do that.  There were a lot of different ways he could have it end and he didn't know exactly what he wanted for Derrick Storm.

The Star Wars theme song interrupted his thought process and he reached to answer his ringing phone.  He desperately wanted to see Kate's name sprawled across the screen, but frowned when he saw an unknown number there.

"Hello," he answered.

"Hi, Mr. Castle," a woman's voice replied, "it's Mrs. Williams, Paige's mom."

"Hi, what can I do for you?"

"I'm here at the beach with the girls and it seems that Alexis hurt her foot."  Castle's writer mind started to think of the worst possible scenarios and he took a deep breath to steady his racing heart.  "It's nothing serious.  We think that she stepped on something sharp hidden in the sand.  I've already examined it and cleaned up the blood, but she would like you to come pick her up, if that's alright."

"Of course, thank you so much.  I'll be there soon."

He hung up and rushed out the door and for the first time in days his mind was focused on something other than Kate Beckett.
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"Daddy!" Alexis howled from across the beach.

Rick picked up his pace to sooth his panicked daughter. "Hey, Pumpkin," he said. "How's it feeling?"

Alexis wrapped her arms around Rick's bicep and snuggled into him, "It hurts, Daddy."

"I know, sweetie," he rubbed her back. "Let me take a look."

Cautiously, Alexis moved her injured foot in the direction of her dad. He gently pulled it towards him to get a better look at the cut.

"Well," he said, "no more blood and no glass left inside there." Smiling, he looked toward Mrs. Williams, "Thank you so much for taking care of her today. I really owe you."

"Oh please," she replied, "it was really no trouble at all. Don't worry about it."

"Alexis," Paige interrupted, "are you all better now?"

Alexis nodded in return then looked to Castle, "Can we go home now?"

"Of course, Pumpkin. But first we have to run to the grocery store. Think you're up for it?"

Alexis hesitated. "I let you pick out dinner and dessert," Rick bribed.

Thankfully, this got Alexis on board and she nodded eagerly.  Rick scooped her up into his arms and they headed to the car.
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A flash of long dark hair flew in and out of Rick's peripheral vision. He snapped his head in that direction but just missed her. Quickly, he grabbed what he needed from the shelf and took off after her.

"Daddy?" she grabbed her father's attention from the cart. "Why are you pushing me so fast?"

Castle slowed to a normal speed, "Uhhh," he hadn't realized he was going that fast, "sorry, Pumpkin. Now what would you like for dinner?" he asked, changing the topic.

"Pizza!" she exclaimed. "You know that really yummy kind with all those toppings and extra cheese?!" Rick nodded. "Yeah! That one, Daddy! It's my favorite!"

Rick shook his head at his over excited little girl and headed to the frozen section. "Looks like someone's feeling better already."

Taking the turn into the frozen aisle, he scanned the frosted doorways for Alexis' dinner of choice. That's when he saw her. Standing there alone staring into the freezer was that woman. That woman that looked to be Kate's twin. Was it really her?

"I think your pizza is further down, Pumpkin," Rick fibbed. He just wanted to get closer. To see if it really was her.

About six feet away from her now, he still couldn't get a good look at her face. He grabbed the pizza and continued on his way right past the young woman. He glanced over and said, "Kate! I'm so glad I ran into yo..." Rick was startled and shut his mouth when he finally got a good look at her. "I'm so sorry, m'am. I thought you were someone else."

Wided eyed and confused she said it was okay and began to walk away. Before she was out of sight, she turned around and said, "But, hey, whoever this Kate is, it sounds to me like she's the one that got away." And with that she was gone.
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"The one that got away?" Rick spoke quietly to himself in the confines of his office. He sat behind his desk not even bothering to turn his laptop on. It just wasn't worth it; all he could think about was Kate and what that woman and said. Was she really the one that got away?

After hours of thinking he decided he couldn't just sit back and wait. He needed to do something. His shaky, nervous fingers flew over the keyboard, "Wondering what you've been up to lately. Give me a call if you get the chance. C"

He put his phone down and waited. And waited. And waited some more. Nothing. He sat and stared at the phone for what felt like hours on end.

"Daddy!" Alexis' voice rang in his ear and broke his concentration.

"What is it, Alexis?" he replied.

She stopped in the doorway of the office, "Is Kate your new girlfriend, Daddy?"

Rick knew the answer to this simple question but he was still uncomfortable answering. "No, pumpkin, she's just my friend."

"Do you want her to be you girlfriend?"

"Yeah, someday. I think I'd love that."

Alexis walked over to her dad and snuggled into his lap. "I love you, Daddy."

He hugged he back, "I love you too."

"Can we ask Kate to come to the beach with us?"

Rick thought about this for a moment, "Yeah, Pumpkin, I think that would be a wonderful idea."

Now, he thought, how can I see her again?